Shelving, Generally
General rules in shelving are: (1) No book should be above reach of hand from floor. This means about 6½ feet (less in children’s rooms) or 7½ feet to cornice, or top of top space. Don’t use steps or ladders, they are obstructive and troublesome to use.
(2) Uprights should not be more than three feet apart, to avoid sagging, and weight in handling. Somewhat less is sometimes advised, never more.
(3) All shelves should be of the same measurements and interchangeable, for obvious reasons, throughout the library. Unadvised architects are apt to fill nooks and spaces with shelving to suit. This may not be so objectionable in fixed shelving, but is fatal with movable shelves.
(4) Shelving should be movable as well as adjustable. Private libraries and very small libraries can get along for a while with fixed shelving, but when books of different sizes accumulate, and close classification is adopted, movable shelving is necessary.
(5) Edges and corners of shelves and supports should be rounded. If hands or books strike sharp edges roughly, they suffer.
(6) There should be no projections to catch clothing. Watch this, especially in stacks.
(7) In shelving or supports, do not leave projections to catch dust. This is often a fault of carved end-uprights.
(8) Have both upper and lower shelves accessible and well lighted for easy inspection. Wherever there is ample room, use of only the breast-high shelves is more convenient both for inspection and for handling.